ESCONDIDO COUNTRY CLUB CRUSADE – REALLY?

In a city where a library branch remains closed, recreational facilities are compromised, streets continue to be filled with potholes, and graffiti abounds, it’s amazing to me that residents of the Escondido Country Club area think the most pressing issue requiring a citizens’ initiative is one that would mandate keeping a golf course open in their community.

The Escondido Country Club, as the U-T San Diego North County has reported, has fallen on hard times — a victim of a bad economy and the democratization of the game of golf over the past few decades.

When the club was first created, private country clubs were symbols of status and social gathering places for the well-heeled in a community. Golf was mostly a game played by the same people who made up the upper echelon of business and society in town.

Memberships in these private clubs can be very pricey, starting at tens of thousands of dollars just for the initial entry and monthly dues of several hundreds if not thousands of dollars. You need to play a lot of golf or have a business that can cover the costs to make up that kind of expense.

Although there were others before him, Arnold Palmer was the working-class guy who changed all that forever. Others soon followed, and in the ensuing years and decades, as the game’s popularity grew, so, too, did the number of public golf courses.

There are now more than 40 public golf courses in the San Diego County and Temecula region. While the golfing on some may not be country club quality, few would argue that golfing at Torrey Pines or a round of golf for less than $75 at Encinitas Ranch isn’t a good value compared with forking over the equivalent of a down payment on a house for the privilege.

My point is, maybe — just maybe — Stuck in the Rough LLC, the new owner of the Escondido Country Club, has belatedly discovered they bought a pig in a poke.

If the residents of the Country Club area want so desperately to keep things going, why didn’t they step up and buy enough memberships to keep the club going when they had the chance?

Residents are decrying Stuck in the Rough’s speculation that they might develop homes on the property, yet the residents’ only response has been to initiate efforts to force them to continue to operate a business that they maintain is not economically viable.

One of the most galling aspects of this episode is seeing attorney Ken Lounsbery, who the U-T has reported lives in the community, and law partner Dave Ferguson providing legal assistance to this effort. I say galling because it proves the insidious nature of NIMBYism that two attorneys who are usually pushing the gas pedals on bulldozers in Escondido are now standing in front of them because it’s affecting their interests.

Then there’s the measure’s title — “Citizens Property Rights Initiative.” If I understand the premise correctly, they want the citizens of Escondido to affirm their property rights by taking away the property rights of someone else. Perfect.